Sports

Cotto looking to stay unbeaten in NY

A year ago, Miguel Cotto came to Madison Square Garden looking for revenge. This year, it’s strictly business and he couldn’t be happier.

“[Antonio] Margarito stole from me a lot of things in 2008 and I got it back last year,” Cotto said yesterday. “This fight, all I want is the belt.”

Cotto will challenge Austin “No Doubt” Trout for the WBA junior middleweight championship Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Showtime will televise. A year ago, Cotto took on Margarito, who was widely suspected of using illegal hand wraps when he beat Cotto into a bloody mess during their 2008 fight in Las Vegas. Cotto got his revenge last year when the referee stopped the fight in the 10th round because of damage to Margarito’s eye.

It was a joyous victory that landed Cotto a mega-bout with Floyd Mayweather last May. Cotto, 32, fought well in that bout, but lost a 12-round decision. He comes into this fight confident he’ll capture his fifth world title.

“Every year I’m getting older,” he said. “I just try to be the best Miguel I can be during my training sessions. On Saturday night, I know I’m going to bring the best Miguel they can see.”

Cotto (37-3, 30 KOs) is undefeated in nine fights in New York, and has sold more than 100,000 tickets to those bouts. The popular Puerto Rican will attract a large crowd Saturday in the first boxing event in the building since completion of the second phase of the renovation.

“I think people here enjoy every aspect of my boxing style,” Cotto said. “The people here help me a lot. They make me be a boxer when I have to be a boxer. They make me be a brawler when I have to be a brawler. The people here are different than other places.’’

Trout (25-0, 14 KOs) is making the fourth defense of his title. The native of Las Cruces, New Mexico, isn’t a household name, but expects that to change after the bout. He is a southpaw boxer puncher, who defeated Delvin Rodriguez by decision last June.

Cotto admitted he hasn’t seen much of Trout, but is confident in the game plan out-lined by his trainer Pedro Diaz.

“Pedro came to me with the strategy,” Cotto said. “I just follow Pedro and what he says.”

The undercard includes Brooklyn middleweight Danny Jacobs (23-1, 20 KOs) going against Chris Fitzpatrick (15-2, 6 KOs) of Cleveland, and Jayson Velez (19-0, 14 KOs) of Puerto Rico against Salvador Sanchez II (30-4-3, 18 KOs) for the vacant WBC silver featherweight title.

Tickets priced from $500 to $50 remain available.